The SCORE Program at Cal Poly Pomona is designed to significantly improve the research capabilities of the University with the ultimate objectives of increasing the number of underrepresented minority biomedical scientists. To achieve these ends the program will fund high-quality research leading to peer-reviewed publications, strengthen the infrastructure for scientific research and lead to the submission of grant applications from alternate funding sources. The program includes fifteen sub-projects involving fifteen faculty with strong, demonstrable commitments to research, and graduate and undergraduate education. The program is interdisciplinary, involving faculty from four academic departments in two different colleges. The projects are diverse as well, covering topics ranging from human nutrition and health, to neurophysiology, cellular and molecular biology, and organic and biochemistry. In a recent survey of the undergraduate origins of recent doctorates in biological sciences, NSF ranked Cal Poly as one of the top 25 "Masters Colleges and Universities." Under the leadership of a new president, J. Michael Ortiz, the University has placed high priority on: the enhancement of research and other scholarly activities; preparing students for life, leadership, and careers in a changing, multicultural world; and promoting academic excellence, educational equity, and diversity in the campus community. Policies and programs have been instituted that will benefit from and contribute to the success and impact of the SCORE program at Cal Poly, Pomona. The University has a very high level of commitment to the success of the SCORE program, committing to pay for one-half of all of the equipment needed for the proposed research and to match the release time purchased for the faculty. The departments participating in the SCORE proposal have been very effective at recruiting underrepresented students, with a higher percentage of underrepresented minority students and a more rapid growth rate than for the University as a whole.